Bookkeeping Workflow Tips

When you’re new to QuickBooks Online, you have an opportunity to learn and incorporate new workflows into your daily routine - seize it.

Today, we’re bringing you tips and tricks to help you process transactions faster and more efficiently. While some of these shortcuts are merely for added convenience, others can drastically reduce the time it takes you to complete tasks in QuickBooks Online.

Once you’ve set up online banking, take advantage of the split function to divide transactions into multiple accounts.

You can split single transactions into separate accounts for specified amounts or assign multiple itemized transactions to separate accounts. A real-world use-case is when you have a receipt that contains items that need to be tracked in separate expense accounts.

Batch actions is another useful feature. The more you use the Online Banking feature, the faster QuickBooks Online will begin to recognize your categorization patterns. Soon, all you will have to do is check the boxes next to each item and "match" them all as a batch action.

Use the Recognized transactions tab to quickly sort out transactions you’ve already entered into QuickBooks that "match" imported bank transactions.

If you’re like me, you prefer focusing your energy on doing creative tasks, not remembering that you have to do actually them. In-product reminders are a great way to ensure you never miss an important task or payment.

Recurring Transactions are a powerful automation feature, but sometimes you want a bit more control over exactly how or when invoices and expenses are processed. Instead of letting QuickBooks take the wheel, you can set reminders to complete these tasks yourself (Gear Icon > All Lists> Recurring Transactions > New > Transaction type > Reminder). Unlike recurring transactions, reminders make it easy to change transaction details on the fly since they aren't permanently set. Afford yourself a reasonable amount of time to complete these tasks before they're due - otherwise, you may have the urge to continuously roll incomeplete tasks.

If you want to let reminders run indefinitely, leave the end criteria set to “none.” You can also select “after” and designate reminders based on a set number of occurrences – for instance, if you have a yearly rental lease and pay monthly, set twelve occurrences and an additional reminder at the end, just in case you need to change your rental rate.

When you have five minutes to spare, get out a pen and write out a list of your daily, weekly, monthly and yearly bookkeeping tasks. Here are a few reminders we’d recommend entering into QuickBooks Online right now:

Bi-weekly bank reconciliations – set to a weekly interval every 2 weeks, 3 days before it’s due; the first reminder is to prepare and precheck your transactions, the second will be the actual reconciliation once you have your bank statements in-hand

Weekly inventory review – set to a weekly interval, 1 day before it’s due

Whether you’re bookkeeping for a business or yourself, there are common tasks everyone should do on a regular basis. There are, of course, some that will be specific to your business or industry. Set aside half an hour to write down a comprehensive list of tasks you need to complete throughout the year. Put them on your calendar and create reminders for each (above).

Here are just a few tasks you’ll need to do (or at least check) on a regular basis:

Don’t let a single, challenging transaction derail your accounting flow. By the same token, don’t ignore problems until they’re too late to fix.

Create an “Ask my Accountant” account as an Other Expense account to record transactions you just don’t know what to do with. This "do it later" approach will help you maintain your pace if you ever get stumped, but use it judiciously. Use this to make the most of your time with your account and take the opportunity to ask questions.

You can name this account whatever you’d like. Create this account by going to Accounting Tab > Chart of Accounts > New > Other Expenses (Account Type) > Other Miscellaneous Expenses (Detail Type)

If you are connected to a ProAdvisor, you can invite them to access your QuickBooks Online Account at your leisure. Direct them to this "ask my accountant" account and send them your questions to get the ball rolling again. If you need to get even more specific about certain types of transactions, create sub-accounts to separate them thematically.